Labor to spend $381m on school works

WA Labor leader Mark McGowan insists he can afford a $381 million investment building new schools and upgrading existing ones if elected by using "unallocated money" in the state budget.

A McGowan government would build 10 new primary schools in Perth's outer suburbs and there would be major investments in high schools including new performing arts centres.

The biggest funding goes to John Forrest High School in Morley and Balcatta High School, which both get $50 million and are both in marginal Liberal electorates Labor needs to win the election.

"There is unallocated money in the state budget that we are going to put towards new schools and upgrading schools where there are growing populations and older schools," Mr McGowan told reporters.

"It is unallocated, it is not allocated to anything in particular at this point in time."

However there was no mention in Labor's Investing in our Schools policy document of the unallocated funds.

When Treasurer Mike Nahan delivered a mid-year budget review before Christmas, he said the government needed its $11 billion sale of 51 per cent of utility Western Power to be a debt circuit breaker, providing both $3 billion for capital works including schools - similar to Labor's plan - and $8 billion to reduce debt.